1. Field
This disclosure relates to an exercise apparatus and more particularly to a partial barrel apparatus for use in Pilates exercises.
2. General Background
Joseph H. Pilates originally developed the concept of using a wheeled platform carriage connected to a resistance device such as a set of weights in conjunction with a stationary frame to provide a variable resistance against which a user could push with his/her feet or pull with the arms while in a sitting or recumbent position in order to exercise the major muscle groups of the user's trunk, legs and/or arms. He and his wife Clara developed and used various exercise apparatus in their pioneering work that has become generally known as Pilates training. One of the exercise devices that Clara Pilates developed she called a “spine corrector”. This device has the shape of a padded partial segment of a cylindrical barrel that merges into a flat, inclined plane, or step, hence the name “step barrel” as it is commonly known today. A user would sit on the step and lean back over the curved surface of the barrel portion, stretching the user's spine.
Since that time many changes and improvements in the design of step barrels have occurred. Handles have been added on the vertical sides, and simplified versions have been developed, called “Baby Arcs”, which are smaller arc segments formed either of wood or plastic and often covered with a padded upholstery material.
Step barrels, however, have a disadvantage in that they are formed with one fixed radius for the curved surface of the barrel portion. One user may find the curvature of the barrel portion too sharp, while another user may find the curvature of the barrel too shallow. This requires the use of at least two barrels and arcs with different curvatures for different users and thus barrels of different sizes have been developed. However, studio space, and hence storage space is usually limited in most facilities where these devices are used. Accordingly, there is a need for a step barrel exercise apparatus that can accommodate different users without taking up additional space. Also, there is a need for an exercise apparatus that can accommodate a variety of different configurations, depending on the physique of the user, as well as different exercises.
It is with these needs in mind that the apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure has been developed.